The global contract chipmaking revenue will likely fall by 4% in 2023 year-on-year on a pandemic recovery-driven demand correction for the advanced chips that contributed to the fortunes of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company LtdTSM and Samsung Electronics Co, LtdSSNLF.
The foundry sales grew by an estimated 28.1% Y/Y in 2022.
Major design houses are already cutting the use of wafers this quarter with no signs of a significant rebound in orders, and foundries may see a more profound drop in demand next quarter, Bloomberg reports.
The global economy struggled with the rising central bank interest rates, China’s attempt to rebound from its COVID lockdowns, and ongoing Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Global tech giants also slashed spending as pandemic-era demand in e-commerce and remote work cooled down.
TrendForce analyst Joanne Chiao said, “The recovery of individual foundries’ capacity utilization rates will not occur as quickly as expected.”
The foundry industry was worth $130 billion as of 2022, TrendForce estimated. TSMC led the sector, with the most prominent memory chipmaker, Samsung trailing in second position, the report adds.
Korea’s exports of semiconductors are likely to fall 15% in 2023 Y/Y, the report cited the Korea International Trade Association, to the dismay of Samsung.
